For weeks, a squirrel dubbed “Santa Squirrel” would appear in one family’s yard with his white fluffy beard.

The little creature also had what appeared to be a neck brace stuck on himself. Later it was discovered to be a small and hollow chewing bone for dogs.

Advertisement

The family whose yard the squirrel frequented, the Fernquists, noticed the neck addition one day as it collected nuts on their deck. "We named him that before we knew he had something stuck on his neck,” Angela Fernquist.

"My daughter was like, 'Santa Squirrel is on the deck,'"she said. "So I looked and thought I saw something on his neck."

An animal rescue group, the Animal Rescue League of Boston, helpedthe family trap the squirrel so the bone could be taken off. They were told thesquirrel would need to be anesthetized to have it removed.

Brian O'Connor, rescue manager for the Animal Rescue League,said Santa Squirrel was freed from the bone in an operation at a localveterinary clinic and would be returned to his neighborhood.